One of the common uses of skin cosmetics is to improve the appearance of a person, especially the appearance of a person's face and/or skin. Typically foundations are used to enhance features, or mask perceived imperfections in them. As foundations are typically applied prior to other color cosmetics, they provide a uniform base of color and coverage which improve the overall appearance of make-up. Characteristics considered by consumers when choosing a foundation fall into three general areas; look (or appearance both upon application and after wear), feel (e.g., ease of application and the feel of the “made up” area), and wear (resistance to water, oil, abrasion, etc.). These foundations are generally available in the form of liquid, semi-liquid or cream suspensions, emulsions, gels, as well as pressed powders or anhydrous oil and wax compositions.
The skin cosmetic art has long sought to provide foundations that alter the appearance of the skin, especially the skin of the face. For example, foundations are used over the entire face to mask perceived imperfections in skin texture, pigmentation or vascularizaton. Unlike other color cosmetics, foundations are typically applied with the hand, and their presence is more visibly apparent than other skin cosmetics, such as moisturizers. Consumers desire a foundation that provides an even covering, without looking unnatural (e.g., “shiny” on the skin), and which can be applied easily with a pleasant feeling (e.g., is easy to spread over the skin but does not feel greasy). However, providing a foundation with all of these characteristics presents special challenges to the skilled artisan. In addition, foundations are typically used to cover relatively large areas of the skin. It is not uncommon for the skin of a person to have a non-uniform color or appearance, for example, due to the presence of a variety of known skin imperfections (e.g., hyper pigmentation). But conventional foundations generally uniform in color, and thus imperfections on a user's skin may be more apparent.
Typically, a consumer chooses foundations that provide a desired skin color. A variety of foundation colors can be provided by incorporating suitable pigment(s) in the foundation. Recently, increasing numbers of foundations incorporate UV benefit agents within the formula. However, the incorporation of UV benefit agents, due to the oily nature of the agent itself—or the chosen neutralizer in some cases, may result in the formation of a foundation film on skin that is not only greasy/oily to touch and shiny in appearance, but also a film that does not wear well on skin due to the increased mobility of the foundation film.
In an attempt to solve this problem, the art has sought new approaches that use oil soluble polymers at increased levels to help “fix” the film and mitigate the wear negatives. However, this approach itself brings negatives in terms of undesirable product feel. In addition, the incorporation of sunscreen actives can also make the film feel greasy and oily, thus amplifying the undesirable feel. While consumers may tolerate the undesirable feel in products where long wear is the primary concern, such products do not enjoy wide consumer acceptance in cosmetics.
Thus, there is a need to provide a film-forming cosmetic composition such as a foundation with UV benefits that also provides a desirable “feel” (e.g., it lacks greasiness, tackiness or stickiness; is smooth and dry; and exhibits suitable adherence to the skin). The film-forming foundation should also provides a “good look” (i.e., even coverage; blendable; and does not appear “heavy” when applied to the skin); should not be undesirably affected by skin secretions or water; and should not “bleed” with wear, does not crack, smudge, abrade, flake or peel.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a film-forming skin cosmetic that provides a UV benefit, and is stable, easy and pleasant to apply, provides a good look, and also provides good wear characteristics.